WW2 soldier’s remains returning to Iowa for burial

Army Pfc. John H. Walker, 20, of Morning Sun, Iowa.

MORNING SUN, Iowa — The remains of a World War II soldier have been identified and are being sent home to Iowa for burial.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said Wednesday that the remains of U.S. Army Pfc. John Walker will be buried June 20 in his hometown of Morning Sun. The agency says Walker was reported missing on Nov. 24, 1944, after his 1st Infantry Division unit battled Germans near Schönthal, Germany. He was declared deceased in November 1945.

The agency says a German resident found remains in the area in November 1948. They eventually were interred at the Ardennes American Cemetery in Neuville, France.

Follow-up research that began in 2016 led to the remains being exhumed, and subsequent DNA and other testing confirmed the remains were those of Walker.